Computer Issues
by Blue Obsidian Butterfly
Summary: Jane has found out a secret of Lisbon's but what is it?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first multi-chapter story and it's a bit short but I wanted to post it to see what people thought of it. Let me know if you want me to continue (I want to see how many people are prepared to read it.)**

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**Disclaimer: I wish I owned The Mentalist however; none of my wishes ever come true. Hence why I don't own it.**

Special Agent Teresa Lisbon walked into the bullpen with a cup of coffee in her hand only to stop short and almost drop it. In front of her was a rather unnerving sight. Her blonde haired consultant, Patrick Jane, was on a computer. He never uses a computer, Lisbon thought but there he was, typing away on a laptop, perched in his lap on the couch. His smirk only proved to agitate Lisbon further. Jane despised computers, she thought, so why is he happy to use one? This can only mean trouble. With that last though firmly in place, she stalked into her office to think.

However, unknown to Lisbon, Patrick Jane was on a mission. He had found out about a certain 'secret' of Lisbon's, one she didn't intend for him to find. But of course Jane, being Jane, just HAD to know what it was that she was hiding. And when he found out, it was like Christmas had come early.

It all started when Lisbon was sitting in her office, typing on her computer. When Jane had walked in, she rushed to hide whatever it was that she was doing. This heightened Jane's curiosity and hopes of finding out something private about her. He had snuck in later that night to find out what she was doing and, once he figured out that he needed to plug in the computer for it to work, he found 'it' and (with some difficulty) copied the folder onto the USB that he found in her desk drawer.

Now he was sitting on his beloved couch, reading what was in the folder, which was quite fascinating and defiantly private, which made it all the more enjoyable.

Lisbon was sitting in her office, glaring at her now cold coffee as if it would give her the answer she was looking for. Jane was up to something, she was sure of it. Why else would he be on a computer? But how to find out what? She couldn't try to sneak a look because this is Jane and he would know. She could just go and ask him but he looked happy and Jane is rarely happy. She was stumped and, quite frankly, annoyed.

**More will happen in the next chapter and it will be longer. Please tell me what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I have got so much more feedback than I expected so thank-you so much. You will find out the secret soon just not in this chapter however, there is a clue. I hope that this can live up to everyone's expectations. :)**

Lisbon decided that the best course of action was to sneak a look while he was out of the room, which should have been pretty simple considering that it was lunch time. She looked out her office window just in time to see the back of Jane's head as he walked out. Perfect, she thought as she wondered out of her office towards Jane's couch. The offending object was lying closed in the middle of the couch, looking innocent. Lisbon glared at it before picking it up and opening it. The screen instantly brightened however, to Lisbon's great annoyance, it needed a password. Leave it to Jane to never use a computer and yet still pass code it she thought as she typed in his daughter's name. Wrong password, try again the computer screen informed her. Well that was just great. She then tried his wife's name and then a combination of both only to get the same result. She glared at it and put in the date of their deaths. When that didn't work she had to take several deep breaths in order to not smash the computer. Then she noticed a USB sticking out the side that looked suspiciously like the one she kept in her desk. Duh, why didn't I think of that? She thought to herself as she looked up to meet a pair of grey eyes. Oh, no. He knew. Of course he did, he's Patrick Jane. She should know better by now.

"Lisbon, what are you doing?" A smiling Jane asked.

"Ummm, urrrr, nothing" Lisbon responded as she handed him the computer and made a dash for her office but she wasn't that lucky. Jane, of course had to torment her at least a little bit. So he followed her into the office just in time to not get hit in the nose by a slamming door.

"Jane, what do you want?" Lisbon asked carefully.

"To know what you were doing with my computer" He responded but they both knew that he knew exactly what she was doing. He just wanted her to admit it. Yeah, because that's really going to happen Lisbon thought as she picked up the stapler threateningly. Jane, never one to give up even in the face of potential stapler induced injuries (after all, he had faced worse), simply smiled at her.

"Jane, you have exactly five seconds to get out of my office before I hurt you" Lisbon said slowly, trying not to throw the projectile that currently remained in her hand.

"Lisbon dear, all that pent up anger is going to hurt you or some innocent bystander one day" Jane informed her.  
"I wouldn't call you innocent Jane" Lisbon replied as she moved the stapler behind her head. Jane decided that this was a good point to leave before he got hurt and he hi-tailed it out of her office to the safety of his couch. Once he was there and sure that a stapler wouldn't come crashing through the window he relaxed and picked up the computer. When he opened it, the pass code screen came up with the date of his families' deaths typed in the box. Jane smiled to himself as he deleted that and typed in Teresa Lisbon. Sometimes that woman had no idea…

That night…

Jane was in the attic hiding from Lisbon. After all, his plan wouldn't work if she caught him. He listened again but he could still hear computer keys clicking. Jeez, didn't the woman ever sleep? He thought as he looked out the window again. Despite the fact that it was nearly midnight, the city was buzzing with life. Only then did he hear the clicking cease and a door opening. Finally, the woman was leaving. After this, he was going to have a serious talk to her about getting a proper amount of sleep. Not that he was one to talk. When he couldn't heat footsteps any more, he peaked out the door to find the cost clear. He then proceeded to tiptoe out of the attic towards Lisbon's' office. After falling over twice (stealthy he was not) he decided that it would be easier to just walk. Once he got to the door, he then picked the lock, went in and quietly closed the door. Now to turn on the computer. Thanks to his escapade the other night he now knew how to turn it on and use it. It's amazing what you can learn when you need to he thought as he typed in her mother's name. Really, the woman should have a less obvious pass code he thought as he plugged in the USB. He opened the folder that he had found and copied his own file in there for her to find. This was going to be brilliant, well that's if she didn't kill him first. Ok, maybe he should have thought this plan through a bit more but once he found out her secret, he just couldn't resist. There was one thing he was sure of though; he will definitely know when she finds it. The whole building will know when she finds it.

The next day…

Jane had done it again. He had made another stupid plan and yes, he had caught the murderer but at what cost? A threatening phone call from the attorney general and a mountain of paperwork. The man could be so infuriating sometimes. Lisbon sighed and took a sip of her coffee. This could take a while she muttered as she looked around only to find no-one. She could indulge just a little before starting on the paperwork. That wouldn't be so wrong now would it? She opened a word document and began to type. However, when she went to save the document in the special folder that she kept just for this, she noticed an extra file. That's funny, she thought, I don't remember doing that, unless…

"JANE!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here is the last chapter. Sorry I didn't write it sooner but I have been really sick lately. I hope the secret lives up to everyone's expectations. Thank-you to everyone who reviewed, alerted and favourited this story. It gives a young author a lot of confidence. :) This chapter is dedicated to all of you.**

Oooh crap, he was in trouble. Apparently she hadn't read what he had written. He had been hoping that she would notice a document that she didn't remember writing and be curious enough to read it but Jane had seriously underestimated how long she spent in that secret little folder of hers. And now he was staring down the end of a stapler. Oh well, it could be worse, he thought. It could be her gun. Had a stapler ever caused anyone's death before? There's a first time for everything.

"Calm down Lisbon, remember what I said about anger" he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

"Calm down, don't you tell me to calm down, not when you KNOW" she yelled back.

"Know what Teresa?" he replied, hoping that the use of her first name would help calm her down.

"You know damn well what" she snapped back.

"Come on Lisbon, I think it's sweet that you like everyone enough to write stories about us although I'm not sure about some of the ones written about me."

Lisbon went an impossible shade of red. She had written many stories over the years, some about cases and others about the antics of the team, all harmless. Then of course there were the hundreds of ways she had imagined Jane's death (written on the days that he had caused her trouble) but then there were the other stories, the ones she knew would never happened but she dreamed of late at night. Come to think of it, it's amazing that Jane didn't know about this earlier. He is an expert on pretty much everything when it comes to people. It's lucky that he hadn't seen the ones she wrote at home.

Jane didn't think that it was possible but Lisbon went an ever darker shade of red.

"Oh, come now Lisbon, there is no need to be embarrassed" Jane said, his signature smirk returning.

"No need to be embarrassed" Lisbon spat back. Ok, maybe the smirk was too much Jane thought as he started backing up towards her office door, the stapler looking like the scariest piece of stationary he had ever seen.

"There are plenty of reasons to be embarrassed. Why can't you stay out of other people's private lives?" Lisbon's eyes went dark and her body language changed into a defensive posture as she realised something.

"Who else knows?" She asked slowly, a dangerous look appearing in her eyes.

Jane knew that he was in trouble now and decided to make a run for it. He was immensely grateful that she had a stapler and not her gun. It wouldn't take her long to pull it on him though so he had to be as quick as he could.

"I haven't told anyone and there is no way that someone could have found out" Jane said as a last ditch attempt to not have to risk his life while making a run for it.

"You found out" Lisbon not so helpfully pointed out.

"Yes well that was different"

"How?"

"Well, let's face it. The team aren't exactly smart enough to find something that you keep that well hidden"

"I should hurt you just for that"

"Please don't" Jane said as he gave her the puppy dog face. He only used it when he was really desperate and out of other ideas. To Jane's utter surprise, Lisbon gave in. Well not completely but she didn't cause him any harm (yet.)

"This isn't over Jane" she warned as she shoved him out of her office and slammed the door, narrowly missing his nose. He let out a sigh of relief before retreating to his attic. There was absolutely no need to hang around.

Lisbon let out a sigh as she sat down in her chair. She had never seen Jane look like that and if she was honest with herself, he looked adorable. She had feelings for him, she had for a long time but could she really be falling in love with him? She immediately dismissed that thought as the result of not enough coffee. There was no way that she was falling in love with Jane, right? Now she started to doubt herself. She had strong feelings for him but was she in love and, more importantly, how did he feel about her? Well that one was obvious she thought. There is no way Jane liked her that way. There were days when she doubted he even liked her at all. What had he put in the folder then she started to wonder and, curiosity getting the better of her, she opened it and began to read.

Rigsby swivelled his chair to face his two colleagues, who were now disappointed that the entertainment was over.

"So, how long do you think Jane's limbs will remain attached to his body?" He asked.

"I don't think I have ever seen her that angry before. What do you think it was about?" Van-Pelt replied.

"I don't know but it must have been pretty serious for the stapler to come out" Rigsby responded earning a grunt of agreeance from Cho as he picked up his book, not wanting to get involved.

"Ten bucks says he gets hurt before the end of the day" Rigsby offered.

"It's not right to bet on such things" Van-Pelt responded being the ever moral member of the team.

"I'm in" Cho said.

Van-Pelt shook her head and turned her attention back to the paperwork in front of her.

Lisbon stared at the words in front of her. Jane hadn't written a story or a poem, instead just two sentences. Two sentences that made her heart beat faster and a radiant smile break out on her face.

_Thankyou Lisbon, for everything. You mean more to me than you know._

Maybe they had some hope together after all…


End file.
